Hammer rotor construction for material crushers



y 3, 1963 J. T. HELLYER 3,098,613

HAMMER ROTOR CONSTRUCTION FOR MATERIAL CRUSHERS Filed May 5, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 92 Jig-1 INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS July 23, 1963 J. T. HELLYER 3,098,613

HAMMER ROTOR CONSTRUCTION FOR MATERIAL CRUSHERS Filed May 5. 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a2 5a? 3 5a a 58 a 36 8 L31". 52 55 Z a 4 E 64 2 g I 9 6'8 66 2 '6' 96 52 I j 42 5o T -:T| rr 4 I64 4 J /4 so I0 4 4 H: QL/ 28 of h /N VE N TOR Maw/4 5v Q2%W ATTORNEYS.

y 1963 J. T. HELLYER 3,098,613

HAMMER ROTOR CONSTRUCTION FOR MATERIAL CRUSHERS Filed May 5, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,098,613 HR ROTOR CONSTRUCTION FOR MATERIAL CRUSHERS John T. Hellyer, Wayne, Ill., assignor of one-half to Robert S. Strum, Wheaten, Ill. Filed May 5, 1958, Ser. No. 732,880 3 Claims. (Cl. 241-190) The present invention relates to an appliance, especially suitable for household use, for co-mminuting various materials and the like, and particularly to devices suitable for crushing and chipping of ice.

Devices of the type embodying the present invention may be advantageously utilized in the preparation of various foods and beverages where it is desired to reduce the particle size of the material. For example, such devices are suitable for crushing or chipping of ice, celery, carrots, fruits and frozen products, and various types of foods such as frozen dog food, etc.

Devices in the nature of crushers, chippers or choppers which are now available for household use require a considerable amount of power to perform a proper operation upon various materials. Some of the presently available devices employ high speed chopping or chipping mechanisms of a type which reduces the object to such finely divided form as to substantially attain a state of liquefaction. Many of the presently available devices of this general class are hazardous to use and are apt to cause injury to an operator, such as when endeavoring to alleviate a jammed condition in the device.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide a novel and improved form of crusher rotor for crushing and chipping various materials, such as ice and various foodstuffs.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved crusher rotor for crushing and chipping material, wherein the rotor is provided with one or more pivotally mounted 'impact hammers which are constructed and arranged so as to effect severance of the material into small, finely divided particles incident to one or more impact blows, and having means for limiting pivotal movement of the impact hammers in one direction.

A further object is to provide a novel construction of crusher rotor of the type having one or more pivotally mounted impact hammers, together with means for precluding the hammers from assuming a position for jamming against relatively firm or hard material.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the crushing and chipping device embodying the present invention.

F FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the device, taken substantially as indicated at line 2-2 on FIGURE 1, and 2-2 on FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional View through the crushing and chipping mechanism, taken substantially as indicated at line 3-3 on FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a transverse, vertical sectional view through the device, taken substantially as indicated at line 4-4 on FIGURE 3. FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary, elevational view of the crushing and chipping mechanism, guide and blades, with the 'mpact hammers extended in operative position, taken substantially as indicated at line 5-5 on FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a detailed, disassembled perspective view of a pair of cooperating hub elements and impact hammer.

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a guide element 3,098,513 Patented July 23, 1963 ice for assisting in directing objects or materials to the crushing or chipping means.

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the combination cover and chute element.

FIGURES 9 to 12 are sectional views, taken as indicated at line 9-9 on FIGURE 4, showing different positions of adjustment of an impact hammer relative to a hub member.

FIGURE 13 is a view similar to FIGURE 9, showing a modified embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 14 is a view similar to FIGURE 9, showing prior construction of an impact hammer, in relation to a hub, which would likely cause jamming or breaking of the device.

The device embodying the present invention performs both a chipping and crushing operation on various objects or materials, to reduce them to relatively finely divided particle size, and for convenience, it is preferably referred to as a crusher.

The present invention is directed to certain novel improvements and refinements over the crusher device disclosed in my copending application, which has issued as Patent No. 2,899,140", dated August 11, 1959.

The device comprises a hollow base 10, which is preferably a metallic casting of generally hollow, box-like formation, terminating at its upper end in a marginal flange 12, on which is fixedly secured, as by screws 14, an upright tubular duct or hopper 16. The lower open end of the hopper is in registration with the hollow interior of the base 10. One of the upright walls of the base is formed with a large opening 18, into which is removably mounted a drawer 20, for the reception of crushed or chipped material from the hopper or duct 16.

The drawer is preferably formed of 'a suitable insulating material, such as plastic, possessing the characteristic of low heat conductivity, for reducing the tendency of melting of certain chipped or crushed materials, such as ice. It will be noted that the drawer is dimensioned so that three upright walls thereof are spaced out of contact with the walls of the base 10, thereby providing air insulation around the drawer. To facilitate sliding of the drawer into and out of the base, and further to insulate the bottom of the drawer from the base, the bottom of the base is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 22, which also serve to reduce the extent of physical contact of the drawer with the base.

Surrounding the tubular duct or hopper 16 is a decorative housing or shell 26, which may be formed of suitable plastic material. Said housing is of generally upright, tubular form and has its lower marginal edge formed with offset flanges 28 for seating and telescoping over the upper portion of the base 10. The housing is secured by screws 30 to lugs 32, extending upwardly from the horizontal flange portion at the lower end of the tubular duct or hopper. The upper end of the housing is provided with a top wall 34, having a material feeding opening, the edges of which are formed for seating cooperatively in a groove .35 formed in the upper end of the tubular duct or hopper 16. The housing is dimensioned and arranged with respect to the hopper 16 so as to provide, at one side, a chamber 36 for enclosing drive mechanism, as will hereinafter be described.

Crushing mechanism is mounted in the hopper 16, a substantial distance from the upper end thereof, and comprises a main shaft 40 extending transversely of the hopper, and having its free end journaled in a self aligning ball bearing 42, mounted in a socket 44 formed as a part of a wall of the hopper 16. The ball bearing is held in place in its socket by a retainer plate 46, having a plurality of tangs 48, extending through the Walls of the hopper, as seen in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. Mounted on said shaft '40, are a plurality of axially spaced apart, impact hammers S0, herein shown as three in number. These hammers are each mounted between a pair of hub elements 52, carried on the shaft 40, and the two outermost hubs are fixedly secured to the said shaft by set screws 54. The opposing faces of each adjacent pair of hub elements are provided with a pair of aligned apertures 56, extending parallel to the axis of the shaft 40, for the reception of the opposite ends of a pin 58, which ends are press fitted into said apertures. An impact hammer is journaled on an enlarged portion 60 of the pin 58, and spacer washers 62 are positioned against opposite faces of the impact hammer and said enlarged portion 60, so that the hammer may swing pivotally about the axis of the pin 58.

By virtue of such interconnection of the hub elements in supporting the respective impact hammers, all of said hub elements and hammers are rotatable as a unit. As may be clearly seen in the drawings, and particularly FIGURE 5, the impact hammers are so mounted in the respective hub elements that they are spaced apart angularly relatively to each other, 120 degrees. Each of the impact hammers comprises a shank portion 64, and a head 66, and an impact edge 68. As may be seen in FIGURE 5, the heads 66 of the impact hammers are positioned so as to extend in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said hammers when the hammers assume their radially extended position, due to centrifugal force, incident to rotation of the shaft 40. Because of the special configuration of the impact hammers, said hammers may assume a position in recessed relation with respect to the hub elements 52, as clearly indicated in ldotdash outline in FIGURE 5, wherein the hammer is disposed substantially within the peripheral dimensions of the hub elements. This constructional feature is of great importance in that it permits the impact hammers to recede within the confines of the hub elements as a result of impact with an object disposed in its path of travel, in the event that said hammer does not exert adequate force on the object so as to permit passing therethnough. It is by virtue of the retractability of the impact hammers that jamming of the crushing or chipping mechanism is to a large extent obviated.

In order to make totally certain of obviating the possibility of jamming of the impact hammers against material being operated upon, the two innermost hub elements 52, and the hub element closest to the outer upright wall of the hopper 16, are each formed with an axially extending lug or stop 55, as clearly seen in the drawings. The axial extent of said lugs or stops is such as to make certain of engagement with the extensions of the impact edges 68 of the impact hammers 50, in the event the imp-act hammers tend to move by centrifugal force, at a rate of speed excess of the speed of rotation of the hub element 52, such as seen in FIGURE 12 of the drawings. This condition occurs when the speed of the shaft 40' and the hub elements 52) is too slow for maintaining the maximum centrifugal thnow-out position of the impact hammers, or when the impact hammers tend to rotate about the axis of the shaft 40 at a speed greater than the speed of the hub elements, such as occurs when the hub elements decelerate due to one of the impact hammers impacting against a relatively firm or rigid piece or material being operated upon, which will tend to slow down or decelerate the driving motor.

FIGURES 9 and 12 of the drawings show two positions that may be assumed by the impact hammers 50 when the rotor assembly is at rest. When the rotor is travelling at normal driving speed, the impact hammer-s are caused to be thrown out centrifugally, away from the hub elements, so as to assume a relationship to the hub elements substantially as seen in FIGURE of the drawings. When the impact hammer impacts against a relatively firm orrigid body, such as a piece of ice, wherein the impact blow is not sutlicient to effect severance of the piece of ice or other material, the impact hammer is deflected in a direction opposite to its normal direction of rotation, such as seen in FIGURE 11 of the drawings.

The present invention is directed to the provision of means by virtue of which the impact hammers are limited in their forward rotational (pivotal) movement during rotation of the rotor, and thus precludes jamming of the outer edge of the impact member against the material being crushed or chipped. FIGURE 14 of the drawings discloses a construction wherein the impact hammer is tree to move pivotally about the pin 58- so that it could assume a position relative to the hub element 52 so as to cause the outer end of the impact member to jam against an obstruction of a relatively finm or rigid nature, such as an ice cube. This condition occurs when the speed of movement of the impact hammer is momentarily greater than the speed of rotation of the hub elements 52, such as sometimes happens upon deceleration of the hub elements 52, or when the motor is turned off. This condition also occurs when one of the impact hammers impinges against a relatively rigid piece of material being operated upon, tending to slow down the speed of rotation of the hub elements and the motor, so that one of the other impact hammer-s may move forwardly to a position as seen in FIGURE 14, where the line of force of impact with respect to the axis of the pivot pin 58 is such as to cause said impact hammer to jam against a relatively rigid object being worked upon, causing undue load upon the motor and the drive mechanism, together with possible damage of the mechanism and burn-out of the motor.

As seen in FIGURES 3 and 4 of the drawings, one axially extending lug or stop 55, is required for each of (the impact hammers and, hence, the hub element 52, nearest to the motor 70, is not provided with such a lug or stop.

In FIGURE 13 of the drawings, I have shown a modified form of means for preventing over-travel of the impact hammers, for accomplishing the same results as the lugs or stops 55. In this construction, the impact hammer, designated at "a, is limited in extent of forward rotational travel, after arriving at its normal maximum centrifugal position of adjustment, such as seen in FIGURE 13 of the drawings, by means of an extending arm 50b, formed as a part of the impact hammer and engageable with the shaft 40.

By the reason of the novel form of the impact hammers and rotor constnuction, satisfactory crushing or chipping action is attainable by the use of a relatively small amount of power. A relatively small electric motor 70, may be employed to operate the crushing mechanism. The motor may be a 20th or a 30th horsepower, operating at a speed in the general range of 3400 rpm.

Cooperating with the impact hammers are a series of horizontally spaced apart blades 72. The blades are interconnected as an assembly and are attached by bolts 74 to a sidewall of the hopper 16, with the bolts extending through horizontal slots 76, so as to permit limited transverse adjustment of the blades relatively to the impact hammers 50. By adjustment of the blades relatively to the impact hammers, it is possible to obtain variation in the particle size of the objects being crushed or chipped. The spacing of the blades determines the maxim-um particle size that may pass therebetween for discharge into the drawer 20.

On the wall of the hopper, opposite the blades 72, is a guide block 78, the marginal edges of which are shouldered for interfitting with the side walls of the hopper 16, and said guide block is fixedly secured in place by screws 80. The guide block is provided at its lower end with a plurality of inclined block-like elements 82, positioned in cooperative relation to the crushing means to assist in directing the objects to be crushed into the path of travel of the impact hammers 50. The spacing of the block elements 82 is such as to permit free, unobstructed passage of the impact hammers therebetween.

Pivotally mounted on a hinged pin as in the upper end of the hopper 16, is a cover element 88, preferably made of sheet metal, and formed, preferably as shown, integrally with the cover element, is a depending chute 90, which is so correlated to the cover element 88 that when the cover element is in closed position, as seen in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the chute is positioned in contact with the guide element 7 8. The lower portion of the chute is inclined to correspond with the inclination of the separate guide blocks 82, and said lower end of the chute is formed with a series of spaced-apart fingers 9 1 registering with the guide blocks 82, and providing spaces for the passage of the impact hammers between said fingers. When the cover element is raised to an open position, chute 90 extends across the hopper 16 above the crushing means, and precludes physical contact by the fingers of the operator with the crushing means. The chute in this position is adapted for the reception of objects or material to be crushed or chipped, and as the cover element is lowered to closed position, the objects are then discharged from the chute toward the crushing means in a position to be engaged by the impact hammers. The chute also serves as a means for measuring the quantity of material to be introduced at one time, into the hopper. Manipulation of the cover element may be utilized to cause the chute to readjust and move objects that may be lodged out of the path of the impact hammers. The chute when moved also serves to scrape off of the side walls of the hopper material adhering thereto. The free edge of the cover element 88 is provided with a rounded, upwardly offset finger engaging tab 92, by virtue of which the cover may be conveniently grasped for moving to an open position.

The shaft 40, carrying the crushing means, is also the main shaft of the motor 70, and the motor 70 and associated parts are adapted to be positioned and enclosed within the chamber 36, formed between the hopper 16 and the outer wall of the shell or housing 26, as seen in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. The outer end of the motor shaft 40 is provided with a fan 94 for cooling the motor, and the entire motor assembly is attached by studs 96, and threaded sleeves 98, directly to the adjacent wall of the hopper 16. The wall of the hopper is formed with a relatively large opening 100, of a size so as to permit convenient passage therethrough of the entire assembly of the crushing or chipping means, and this opening is normally closed by a cover plate 102, secured in position against the wall of the hopper by screws 104. By virtue of this construction, the entire electric motor and crushing or chipping means may be assembled as a complete unit prior to mounting in place in the hopper of the device, which effects great economies in manufacture, as well as in repair or replacement of parts.

It will now be apparent that by virtue of the construction embodying the present invention, the objects or material to be crushed or chipped, when discharged into the hopper, will be engaged by a series of impact blows imparted by the impact hammers 50, tending to chip or crush the object or material, and as the object or material is reduced in particle size, the impact hammers, in cooperation with the blades 72, tend to further crush and chip the material to reduce the particle size thereof. It will be noted that the dimensions of the spaces between the blades 72, determine the maximum size of particles of ice or other objects being chipped or crushed which will be permitted to pass downwardly through the hopper for discharge into the drawer .20. It will also be apparent that the blades 72 perform a cooperating crushing and chipping action on the objects, particularly when the objects are thrown by impact thereagainst due to the action of the rapidly rotating impact hammers 50. It will be seen that the operative edges of the blades 7 2 are disposed approximately in horizontal alignment with the shaft 40 so that the impact hammers will force the objects being processed against the blades during the movement of the hammers through the upper rear quadrant of their cycle of rotation, in clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURE 5 of the drawings.

For purposes of safety, and in order to insure that the objects or material being crushed or chipped are not discharged Other than in the drawer 20, I provide an electric switch 188, connected in circuit with the motor 70'. Associated with the switch is a rotatable shaft 110, on which is mounted a bifurcated, depending control element 112, comprising a pair of spaced fingers which are adapted, when the drawer is removed from the base, to assume the dot-dash outline position in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, at which time the switch is in an open position. When the drawer is fully inserted within the base 10, the rear upper edge of the drawer engages the bifurcated element 1 12, and rotates it, to the full line position, seen in FIGURE 2, for effecting closure of the switch, and thereby making it possible for the motor to be actuated for driving the crushing means.

Although I have herein shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, manifestly it is capable of modification and rearrangement without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting this invention to the precise embodiment herein disclosed, except as I may be so limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A unitary, portable, household appliance for crushing ice comprising a rotatable shaft, means for rotating said shaft, a pair of axially spaced hubs mounted for rotation with said shaft, an impact hammer pivotally mounted between said hubs and having an impact edge and a weighted head at the outer free end, extending in a direction oppositely from said impact edge, said impact hammer being freely movable about its pivot mounting by centrifugal force created upon rotation of said hubs to a position with the mass thereof disposed in radial alignment with the axis of said pivot and the axis of said shaft, and means for limiting the extent of pivotal movement of said impact hammer, said hubs and hammer being so dimensioned and correlated whereby the hammer may be moved incident to impact with a piece of material radially inwardly in a direction opposite the rotation of said shaft and disposed substantially within the peripheral limits of said hubs.

2. A household appliance as defined in claim 1, having a pair of spaced apart, stationary shear blades positioned in close proximity and parallel to the path of travel of the hammer when radially extended.

3. A household appliance as defined in claim 1, having a casing surrounding and supporting the rotatable shaft and hammer with a motor mounted within the casing and operatively connected to said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 14,926 Plaisted July 27, 1920 845,171 Gardner Feb. 26, 1907 889,555 Stedman June 2, 1908 991,477 Buchanan May 9, 1911 1,440,429 Williams Jan. 2, 1923 1,492,102 Nelson Apr. 29, 1924 1,761,083 Liggett June 3, 1930 2,045,690 Armstrong June 30, 1936 2,822,138 Olive Feb. 4, 1958 2,899,140 Hellyer t. Aug. 11, 1959 

1. A UNITARY, PORTABLE, HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE FOR CRUSHING ICE COMPRISING A ROTATABLE SHAFT, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFT, A PAIR OF AXIALLY SPACED HUBS MOUNTED FOR ROTATION WITH SAID SHAFT, AN IMPACT HAMMER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID HUBS AND HAVING AN IMPACT EDGE AND A WEIGHTED HEAD AT THE OUTER FREE END, EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION OPPOSITELY FROM SAID IMPACT EDGE, SAID IMPACT HAMMER BEING FREELY MOVABLE ABOUT ITS PIVOT MOUNTING BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE CREATED UPON ROTATION OF SAID HUBS TO A POSITION WITH THE MASS THEREOF DISPOSED IN RADIAL ALIGN- 